Franka Potente

"Potente" means powerful in Italian, and this up and coming actress is living up to her name. Though Franka Potente has been attracting attention since she was a little girl, it was in the restroom of...
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Just as the kiddies are getting ready to go back to school, so are the actors to their fancy television show sets. Since standing outside the Sony lot all day trying to figure out who is going where and why would look come across as creepy, we figured out that a better way to compile the best bits from the casting world would be simply to round it all up for you. So here are some TV Tidbits! Easy on the digestive system and everything.
Abby Elliott Gets Sitcom-y: The SNL alum didn't wait long to nab her first gig after leaving the longstanding sketch show. Elliott will reportedly play a kooky character named Janeane on a multi-episode arc of How I Met Your Mother. “We’re thrilled to have the hilarious Abby Elliott joining us in an arc as Janeane, the craziest girl the HIMYM gang has ever encountered. And the strange, inexplicable phenomenon is: the crazier Janeane gets, the more attractive one of the gang finds her,” executive producer Craig Thomas explained to EW. “It doesn’t end well.” Uh-oh! Guess we can count her out of the Mother race then, huh? Seems like the gang at HIMYM likes to keep it all in the family, too, as Elliott's father (Chris Elliott) also has a recurring role on the series (as Alyson Hannigan's dad). [EW]
Franka Potente is an American Horror: Ryan Murphy and his shows are all the buzz these days: from Glee to The New Normal and American Horror Story. The latter has a new casting addition, with former Bourne actress Franka Potente joining the show as a "mysterious patient" in the asylum de Murph for two whole episodes. Sounds, well, par for the course with that one, really. [TVLine]
Two and a Half...Inches of Miley's Hair: Ha ha ha, hair jokes! Get it? Because Miley Cyrus just cut her hair AND she's joining the cast of CBS' Two and a Half Men for a two-episode long potential love affair for Angus T. Jones' character while he's on break from the army. Could the haircut be one of those weird, method acting choices? Buzz cuts! They're totally matchers! I think the bigger question here is whether or not Miley Cyrus has anything in common with Daniel Day Lewis (oh those kooky method actors) because wouldn't it just be amazing if they did? They could talk about method acting together while being totally method and can I squeeze the word method into this blurb on more time? Yes! Success is mine. I have a method for it. [TVLine]
ABC Family Gets Lost: Lost alum Tania Raymonde (aka Alex Rosseau to all you Losties) has joined the ABC Family gang to be the wrong-side-of-the-tracks, so-cool-so-edgy-so-topical street artist friend of character Bay on Switched at Birth. Street artist! Is she going to be like Banksy? Or Space Invader? Or perhaps she's more old-school (they could squeeze in a great PSA storyline about huffing this way) and do straight-up graffiti? Who knows, but apparently her character is going to ruffle some feathers. Ruffle away, Raymonde; ABC Family loves to ruffle. [TVGuide]
[Photo Credit: Twitter, WENN.com]
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The Bourne Identity star took a shot of Jagermeister to ease her anxiety before diving into a romantic lip-lock with Depp for the 2001 film, however, Potente admits her plan backfired since she got too drunk and slurred her way through the sequence.
She tells New York Magazine, "This was like ten years ago on this movie Blow, with Johnny Depp, and we were shooting in a bar in L.A., and there was a power outage or something, we had some extra time, and the bartender was like, 'Oh, Johnny Depp and everyone, you have to have a drink. Ah, you're German, okay, let's have Jagermeister' - and that's kind of what the story was.
"And I was really nervous that day. I had a lot of lines I had to do a Boston (Massachusetts) accent or something, and it was so hard, and I was really affected because I had too much Jagermeister. I was young, I didn't know any better."

While walking down a New York street, there's not only an overwhelming respect for the city's rich and fascinating history, but the sense that an episode of Law &amp; Order has been filmed there, or is about to film there. (Take a look around you — if there's a camera and Richard Belzer, you've probably stumbled onto a Law &amp; Order set. How fun!)
While watching BBC America's new, ambitious original crime drama Copper, there's an overwhelming feeling that the series was aiming for a rough, blood-soaked trip back to ye olde New York like what Martin Scorsese did with the Oscar-nominated Gangs of New York, but instead wound up with a slightly more prim and proper Law &amp; Order.
That's not to take a swipe at Law &amp; Order (there's a reason why it's on 23 times a day on cable) or at Copper for that matter, but for this to be from the same network that gives us the cult phenomenon Doctor Who, let's just say I was expecting something a little more... arresting. KA CHUNG!
Like all procedurals, Copper follows an unorthodox antihero who plays by no one's rules but his own and with a dark past he may or may not be trying to make right. Here it's Irish detective Kevin Corcoran (relative newcomer Tom Weston-Jones, pictured in a scene from the pilot) trying to make the New York City streets safer in 1864, oft with the help of his one-eyed partner Detective Francis Maguire, played by Kevin Ryan, and local coroner/freed slave Dr. Matthew Freeman (Freeman... free man, get it?) played by Ato Essandoh.
In last night's pilot, Corcoran and co. investigate the grisly murder of a young prostitute named Annie (Kiara Glasco), who was bludgeoned to death and then raped. Like in any episode of Law &amp; Order: SVU, Copper didn't shy away from using medically accurate, albeit grotesque and unsettling language. There were the expected procedural twists (it wasn't Annie who was murdered, but her darling twin sister) and turns (the man convicted of the crime is innocent, while the real killer, a hoity-toity socialite goes free... for now) but none of it felt as thrilling as it should have. Yes, there's sex, violence, and an impressive ensemble cast (including The Bourne Identity and Run Lola Run's always-intoxicating Franka Potente as Corcoran's love interest) but there's still a key piece missing to this puzzle.
Perhaps it's because the show is on the esteemed BBC America, or perhaps it's because it's got such a prestigious crew to its credit (Oscar-winner Barry Levinson is one of the series' executive producers) that Copper felt like such a letdown in its first episode. The show isn't as polished or distinguished as other great television procedurals (like, say, The Good Wife) to stand out among the pack, nor is it enough of a stylistic ratings grabber like CSI or Criminal Minds to blend in with the others. And though Weston-Jones' Corcoran is certainly a man to root for (he wants justice, stays true to his lady friend, among other admirable traits) the actor, who looks like a more refined Joaquin Phoenix, doesn't have quite the same screen presence as say, Christopher Meloni, to arouse interest.
The performances are solid (particularly the young Glasco) if not a little bit unmemorable and the show's pacing is quick enough to keep things moving, but Copper still feels like it stops short. Had the series premiered a tad earlier this summer, when the want and need for quality original programming is at its peak, perhaps Copper would have been like a breath of fresh air, but with the fall season soon upon us, it was merely a reminder that all our reliable favorites are on their way.
What did you think of Copper: an arresting procedural or a surprisingly standard drama?
Copper airs at 10 PM EST on Sundays on BBC America.
[Photo Credit: BBC America]
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Ryan Murphy must have been feeling a little left out of the Twitterverse, because he finally succumbed to the pressure and created an account. On Monday, @MrRPMurphy was born. And, less than 24 hours (and 56,000 followers) later, the Glee and American Horror Story creator immediately began tweeting photos — of Lea Michelle and Kate Hudson on the set of Glee, as well as Adam Levine and a mysterious co-star filming new scenes for American Horror Story's second season.
On AHS, Levine is slated to play one half of the couple known as 'The Lovers' (opposite Jenna Dewan), but this is the first we have seen of him on set. In Murphy's photo, we also get a look at what Murphy calls "Bloody Face." It's not an especially creative name, but it is certainly descriptive. Murphy teases the face as one of the show's "stars," which may mean that the image will be a recurring theme in the new season, set in a 1960s insane asylum.
AHS exclusive: Two of our stars who started shooting today - - the multi-talented @adamlevine and Bloody Face!— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) July 30, 2012
Levine is just one of the many big name stars attached to the next installment of AHS. Other cast members include Jessica Lange (who will return to play the nun who runs the asylum), Chloe Sevigny, Joseph Fiennes, Mark Consuelos, James Cromwell, Franka Potente and more.
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[Photo Credit: Twitter]
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Hannibal Lecter may have met his match, and (hopefully) Ted Mosby is losing one of his. New additions to Hannibal, How I Met Your Mother, Once Upon a Time and more fill out our casting roundup.
Hannibal: Laurence Fishburne joins Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelson in NBC's upcoming Hannibal. Fishburne will play Jack Crawford, the head of the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit (and Dancy's boss).
Once Upon a Time: Sinqua Walls (Teen Wolf) has been cast as Sir Lancelot for one episode. Lancelot, a "sword for hire with nothing to lose," was expelled from King Arthur's Round Table and torn away from his love.
Royal Pains: Carrie Preston is heading from Bon Temps to the Hamptons. TV Line reports that the True Blood and Good Wife actress has been cast as Jackie Van Ark, a romance novelist whose daughter unexpectedly becomes ill, on USA's Royal Pains.
How I Met Your Mother: She's back! Again! Ashley Williams returns to HIMYM for its eighth season, reprising her role as Ted's former flame Victoria, who left him for her German lover but briefly reunited last season.
Scandal: Deadline reports that Gregg Henry (Hung) and Jillian Armenante (The Dark Knight Rises, everything) will join Shonda Rimes' Scandal for its second season. Henry will play a big-money Southern guy whose charm is only surface-deep; Armenante will play brash and quick-witted Lucas, a part originally written for a male actor.
American Horror Story: Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) is just crazy enough to join the second season cast of AHS, according to TV Line. No word yet on who her character is, but it's a good chance she'll be a patient at the insane asylum where this season is set.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: WENN.com]
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Running. It's never really been the most exciting way to exercise given all the actual effort one has to put forward to get from Point A to Point B, yet thousands upon thousands of people pound the pavement year 'round, running either for exercise or in the name of admirable causes. Even celebrities like to get in on the action. The 2012 Boston Marathon, which took place on April 16, brought forth some recognizable participants, including Super Bowl winner Tedy Bruschi, former soccer star Kristine Lilly, and Bachelorette winner Ryan Sutter. This got us thinking about some of our favorite celebrity runners throughout the course of entertainment history. Thanks to these star's memorable displays of athleticism, we're able to fully appreciate exercise at its finest (or less than finest).
Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump
It's be a huge oversight to talk about historic running moments and not mention the most memorable runner of them all: Forrest Gump. Hanks put that character through his paces and made him one of the most lovable characters of all time. Who knew that a simple phrase like "Run Forrest, Run!" could become so recognized in our society?
Lisa Kudrow in Friends
There are times when all of us want to run around Central Park like a crazed-carefree lunatic, but Kudrow took the idea and literally ran with it. Whether she's "running to the swings or running from Satan" that scene is enough to make you smile each and every time you watch it. Working out never looked like so much fun.
Will Ferrell in Old School
"We're going streaking!" Some people might think that running naked down the street next to your wife's van full of her friends would be a real low point in anyone's life, but in actuality it gave Ferrell a great boost of fame. Just try watching this excessively hairy man without cracking a smile (pun intended). It's simply impossible.
Taylor Lautner in Breaking Dawn
Whether he's shirtless or just running in the rain, Lautner manages to make almost any activity look like a beautiful work of art. It doesn't matter if you're a Twilight fan or not, this is one good looking specimen of a man (or wolf). Who wouldn't want to see something like that running toward them?
Tom Cruise in Everything
Has anyone had more running scenes than Mr. Cruise? It doesn't matter if he's running from an alien attack or running to catch the bad guy, Cruise always sets a pace for non-stop action. This guy isn't in incredible shape by accident — running seems to be his mission (that is, if he chooses to accept it).
Jared Leto in Prefontaine
When it comes to honoring the journey of a real life runner Steve Prefontaine, Leto pulled it off with flying colors. It's a story about passion, courage, and dedication, allowing the world to run in the footsteps of a truly talented athlete.
Franka Potente in Run Lola Run
If you want to talk about high-speed chase scenes where literally every second counts, then Lola's your girl. Everything she does or doesn't do revolves around her three different runs, and thus creates three very different outcomes. It's like they say: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (My sixth grade science teacher would be so proud).
Everybody in Chariots of Fire
If you want to look at some seriously skilled runners then this pretty much says it all:
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The Lord of the Rings actor, who has previously been linked to Franka Potente and Ellen Page, split from longterm model/musician partner Pamela Racine in 2010.
Wood admits he's still on good terms with his exes, but it takes him time to welcome them back into his life after a split.
He tells The Insider, "I find it really difficult to be friends with my ex-girlfriends immediately.
"I always felt like I need at least six months to a year of time away - it's not a harsh thing, it's just about being able to differentiate between the relationship as a romantic one and your time as friends and re-establishing the friendship."

Ocean's Eleven director Steven Soderbergh is set to shoot two back-to-back films about Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara.
Soderbergh and Benicio Del Toro, who will play Guevara, have been working on the movies since they made Traffic together in 2000.
The films will also likely star Javier Bardem, Franka Potente and Benjamin Bratt, who are currently in talks for key roles.
Both films pick up after the formative Guevara years captured in Walter Salles' film The Motorcycle Diaries.
The first movie, The Argentine, begins as Guevara and a band of Cuban exiles (led by Fidel Castro) reach the Cuban shore from Mexico in 1956.
The second film, Guerilla, begins with Guevara's trip to New York City, where he spoke at the United Nations in 1964 and was celebrated in society circles.
He then disappeared into the jungles of South America. When he tired to use Bolivia as the catalyst for more revolution, he was captured and executed.
The movies will be shot back-to-back beginning next May in Mexico and South America.
Article Copyright Entertainment News Network All Rights Reserved.

Top Story: Crosby Arrested on Gun and Drug Charges
Rock musician David Crosby was arrested early Saturday on marijuana and felony gun possession charges at a New York hotel, Reuters reports. According to the police report, a hotel manager at the Doubletree Guest Suites hotel called police after a maid searching for identification in a green canvas bag Crosby left after checking out of his room discovered a small quantity of marijuana, a .45-caliber gun, ammunition and knives. The 62-year-old musician, who rose to fame with the Byrds and later Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in the late 1960s and 1970s, was charged with the third-degree felony of criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful drug possession, Manhattan District Attorney spokeswoman Barbara Thompson told Reuters. Crosby, who spent a year in prison after a drug charge conviction in 1985, could serve up to seven years in jail if convicted of the gun charge. He was freed after appearing in court and posting bail of $3,500.
Return of the King DVD Bows in May
The Lord of the Rings enthusiasts can look forward to the DVD and VHS release of The Return of the King May 25, three months earlier in the year than its predecessors, The Associated Press reports. In recent years, New Line had held off until August to release The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers to generate anticipation for the trilogy's next theatrical release. Now, with the trilogy concluded--and riding high on the 11 Oscars the film won at the Academy Awards--New Line has decided to roll out the third and final installment earlier. AP reports the initial DVD release of The Return of the King will include a bevy of behind-the-scenes material--and, as with the other two installments, an extended version of King will be released sometime around the holidays. The three extended versions will push the saga's running time to more than 11 hours.
Schwarzenegger Heads Up Fitness Weekend
Arnold Schwarzenegger's got a busy schedule, what with running the nation's largest state and all, but still managed to take time out for his first love--bodybuilding. Reuters reports the Governator visited Columbus, Ohio, last weekend to officiate the Arnold Schwarzenegger Fitness Weekend and its centerpiece, the Arnold Classic bodybuilding contest. The three-day event--which dates back to 1989 and includes 600 exhibitors, 11,000 athletes and some 80,000 attendees--coincided with Schwarzenegger's appointment as executive editor of Muscle &amp; Fitness and Flex magazines, two American Media-owned bodybuilding mags that have featured the former Mr. Universe on their covers some 50 times, Reuters reports.
Lost in Translation Feted at Comedy Fest
The Oscar-winning Lost in Translation was one of the big winners at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sofia Coppola's film about two lost souls in Tokyo won the audience award, along with best performance (Bill Murray), first-time director and screenplay prizes at the festival's second annual Comedy Film Honors. Al Madrigal took the jury award for best standup performer, while Dave Gorman won for the second time in the best one-person show category.
Role Call, Part I: McConaughey Swings Hammer, Universal in 11th Hour
Matthew McConaughey is in negotiations to star in Hammer Down for DreamWorks, a story about a disgraced NASCAR driver who becomes a wheel man in a heist in hopes to get his life back on track, Variety reports… Universal Pictures has acquired the project The 11th Hour, by first-time director and Shattered Glass scribe Billy Ray. According to Variety, the biopic tells the story of Robert Hanssen, the traitorous FBI agent who sold government secrets to the Soviet Union and centers on Hanssen's assistant Eric O'Neil. No cast as been set as yet.
Role Call, Part II: Malick Postpones Che
The trades also report eccentric director Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) has abruptly shelved his biopic project Che, about Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, and will instead direct The New World, a drama about Pocahontas and the cultural collision of European explorers and Native American tribes starring Colin Farrell. Che was due to start filming in July 2004 in Bolivia with Benicio Del Toro set as the title character and Franka Potente, Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt and Ryan Gosling as his lieutenants. Malick, who co-wrote the Che script with Del Toro and Ben Vanderveen, has told the film's producers, Laura Bickford and Steven Soderbergh (Traffic), and financiers that he still intends to direct the film in July 2005, Variety reports. Despite the delay, Del Toro plans to stick with it. He and Bickford came up with the project in 1997, and they and Soderbergh own it. According to Variety, Del Toro is already fielding acting offers to fill his sudden summer vacancy, and Che will apparently wait until Malick returns.

The crew of an Italian fishing boat finds the body of a man floating in the Mediterranean Sea and discovers he has two bullets lodged in his back and a microfilm implanted in his hip marked with the number of a Swiss bank account. Once he comes to he has no idea who he is or what happened to him but realizes he possesses extraordinary abilities and can speak several languages. The safe deposit box in Zurich holds a good sum of cash and several passports but most importantly a name: Jason Bourne. With his identity in tow Bourne (played by Matt Damon) finds his home address in Paris but soon realizes he's being tracked by someone who wants him dead. He offers German-born student Marie (Franka Potente) $10 000 to drive him to Paris but the two suddenly find themselves on the run from police the government and trained assassins. The Bourne Identity is a thrilling action pic that works on every level: the story is suspenseful and intense the cinematography is stunning and the acting above par.
It's good to see Damon who was phenomenal in The Talented Mr. Ripley in an edgy role once again. Not remembering his dark past Bourne is basically a good guy who just wants to wipe the slate clean and Damon is great at playing up his character's duality and perplexity ("Who has a bank account in their hip?" a dumbfounded Bourne asks Marie). Potente (Run Lola Run) was well cast in the role of Marie a gypsy-like loner who isn't afraid of a challenge but is smart enough to know when to quit. The two have chemistry on screen in a story line that is sweet without going overboard on sentiment. Two of the villains if you can label the CIA as such are played by Chris Cooper (The Patriot) and Brian Cox (L.I.E.). Both actors are chillingly creepy in their portrayal of cold and calculating government officials and constantly leave you guessing at what their true intentions really are. Julia Stiles (O) has a surprisingly small role as Nicolette a spiffy young American who tracks Bourne's every move in Europe.
The Bourne Identity is the first in a trilogy of films featuring Jason Bourne the main character in three best-selling novels by Robert Ludlum who died shortly after this movie's completion. Tony Gilroy (Proof of Life) adapted the novel which was published at the height of the Cold War in 1984 into a more modern and updated screenplay. Filmed on location in Prague Paris Italy and Greece the film has some stunning visuals from exotic shorelines to tight cobblestone alleyways. One of the film's most exciting scenes is a car chase through the streets of Paris as Damon at the wheel of a Mini knocks down pedestrians and drives down flights of stairs with skills that would make World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen blush. Director Doug Liman (Go) sustains the action and suspense evenly throughout the film with a story line that never lags. In fact a couple of scenes will practically have you jumping out of your seat.

Had small role as a film editor in the "Nonfiction" segment of Todd Solondz's "Storytelling"

Starred in the TV series "Opernball"

Cast as the stewardess lover of George Jung in "Blow"

Had starring role in "Downhill City"

Had lead role in the German TV special "Coming In"

Had a three-episode recurring role on the FX drama "The Shield" as the ruthless Godmother of LA's Armenian Mafia

Acting debut, "Aufbruch"

First leading role in features, "Nach funf im Urwald"

Played a med student involved in a mystery in "Anatomy"

Reteamed with Tykwer for "The Princess and the Warrior"

Co-starred with Elijah Wood and Mandy Moore in "Try Seventeen"

Starred opposite Matt Damon in "The Bourne Identity"

Summary

"Potente" means powerful in Italian, and this up and coming actress is living up to her name. Though Franka Potente has been attracting attention since she was a little girl, it was in the restroom of a local bar that the beautiful Potente was discovered.

Education

Name

Lee Strasberg Institute

Otto Falckenberg School

Humble High School

Notes

"It has to get my attention. I have to like it. The luxury of the situation is, at the moment I feel my work is like a huge buffet, and according to what I ate last, what the last movie was that I chose. I feel like something hot or I feel like something a little more sweet. The buffet has just gotten a little bigger because I've expanded my working territory a little bit." - Potente on how she picks her scripts to SPLICEDwire.com, April 20, 2001